COPYING God's Design GOD DESIGNED THE WORLD TO BE A WONDERFUL PLACE FOR HUMANS TO LIVE. HE FILLED THE WORLD WITH PRETTY FLOWERS, TALL TREES, AND INTERESTING ANIMALS. He gave humans the ability to think and to study the natural world. Humans have studied nature for many years. And they have found that the world is perfectly designed. Humans have also discovered that the designs in nature can be used to make things that are helpful to man. In fact, scientists often copy designs in nature. When people copy nature, it is called biomimicry. The word biomimicry can be understood when you look at each part of the word. Bio means life, and mimicry means to copy or to imitate. So, biomimicry means that humans are looking at nature and copying God s design. Let s look at some examples of science copying God s design. Spider silk is a very strong substance produced by spiders to make their webs. Scientists have studied spider silk and learned that, pound-forpound, it is stronger than steel. Not only is spider silk very strong, it can also stretch. Scientists are trying to copy the design of spider silk. They believe that the design of spider silk can help humans make better clothes, stronger buildings, and safer cars. Spider Silk Have you ever tried to catch a fly with your hands? If you have, you know that it is hard to do. Flies are very fast. They can change direction in the air. And they can land and take off quickly. Flies fly better than any airplane that humans have designed. Because they are so good at flying, scientists are studying them. Scientists hope to copy the design in flies to build better airplanes. Some scientists have even designed a robot that looks like a fly. It is very small and has tiny wings. What good is such a little robot? It could have all kinds of uses like helping to get people out of burning buildings or taking pictures of things in places that are hard for big planes to reach. 42 June 2018 Discovery 43
Cockleburs ONE VERY FAMOUS EXAMPLE OF HUMANS COPYING God s design in nature is Velcro. It was invented by a man named George de Mestral. The story is told that George and his dog went for a walk in the field. When they came back, George saw that his dog was covered with cockleburs. George wondered how the cockleburs could stick to his dog s hair so easily. George pulled a cocklebur off his dog and looked at it very closely. When he did, he saw that it had many tiny hooks. After seeing the tiny hooks, he designed two pieces of fabric. One piece had tiny hooks. The other piece had hundreds of tiny loops. When he put the two pieces of fabric together, they stuck, just like the cocklebur stuck to his dog. Today, Velcro is used in many different ways. Some shoes have Velcro so that there is no need to tie them. Jackets, coats, and clothes have it so that they can be fastened even with cold hands. Velcro is also used in bags and purses. George de Mestral was very smart to copy the design of the cocklebur. But think about this: God designed the cocklebur. George de Mestral was simply copying God s original design. God thought of it first. Fishy Replicas SOME FISH LIVE NEAR COLD PLACES LIKE ALASKA OR THE ARCTIC. THEY SWIM IN water that has lots of ice in it. The water is freezing cold, but the fish do not freeze. Do you know how they do it? Scientists have found that some fish can produce special chemicals that keep the fish from freezing to death. Have you ever tasted ice cream that is freezer-burned? It does not taste very good. Humans are trying to make the same special chemicals that some fish make. If humans could make them, they could use the chemicals in ice cream. Then the ice cream would not get freezer burned. These special chemicals could also be used in cars and trucks to keep them from freezing during cold winters. They could also be used to keep crops from freezing. God s design, which is found in fish that do not freeze, is amazing. Fish can do other neat things besides producing special chemicals. One interesting fish is called the boxfish. It is called the boxfish because it is almost square like a box. It does not look like it could swim very fast. But it can. In fact, it is so strong and can swim so fast that people who design cars are copying its design. The boxfish has a special shape that helps it swim through the water easily. People who design cars are copying that same shape. They have found that a car shaped like a boxfish can drive on the road smoothly. This boxy shape helps the car to get better gas mileage. Also, the boxfish has very strong skin. Scientists have copied the special skin and used it on the car. By doing this, they can make the car weigh less, but still be very strong. The scientists who are copying the designs in fish are very smart. They have spent many years studying designs in nature. So what does that teach us about God? It teaches us that God is much smarter than humans. Humans are only copying what God invented. No scientists could ever be smart enough to invent the things that God has created. 44 June 2018 Discovery 45
A c tivity Pag e s Solve, FInd, and CIrcle A L A Q O K G M Z F Q Q H H O O K S Q U C Q Z I M F G O X L D S U E E C X D E G P R X S M N V E R U O S Q S J E V D O C F N R A A I F L I G L R K D G B K E B K F L U E B E E K L U I L N U T A G R D C S G O N W E I M H W E I I K M Q V G O Z D A M W X M I G E T N X R T E X U Q M L L D U O W E S A F Y I X C E I P H R T M O Y C W R Z J L V F R O S W R U O Y E K N H A I I N Y N C E U F G P L W L Z H J T D K G N U O A K Z O S D O Q L 46 On a Separate sheet of Paper 1. Discuss one of the marvelous creatures in this issue of Discovery and what scientists have learned from them. 2. Think about and write down something that you think scientists could learn from an animal or plant (of your choice) that could be helpful to human beings now and in the future. 1. The word refers to people looking at nature and copying God s design 2. Sticky that could be used on wet things is based on the design of blue mussels. 3. Velcro was invented by a man named. 4. Scientists have found that the blue mussel makes a glue-like substance that works great. 5. A is like an oyster (with a shell and a very soft body inside). 6. The from certain spiders is pound-for-pound stronger than. 7. Design in nature proves that the theory of is false. 8. Velcro consists of one strip of nylon fabric formed into tiny, and another made into. 9. Dessert companies are in hopes of keeping from forming distasteful ice crystals by producing a product that functions similar to this one. 10. is sometimes found on tennis shoes and in various types of clothing. True or False 1. Flies fly better than any airplane that humans have designed. 2. Biomimicry means to mock the God of creation. 3. Mussels are not found in the human body. 4. Design demands a designer. 5. A robotic fly is proof of evolution. 6. Fish that swim in cold water normally freeze to death. 7. George de Mestral invented the boxy-shaped car. 8. The silk from silkworms is (pound for pound) stronger than steel. Dear Digger Doug, How big is the Beetle Juice Star? Nathaniel, age 5. Dear Nathaniel, MatchIng DesIgn In ScIence with DesIgn by God In Nature 1. The idea for Velcro came from these prickly things. 2. The knowledge to make underwater glue came from observing this creature. 3. Scientists can learn from this creature how to produce a substance that is stronger than steel. 4. A tiny flying robot has been developed that mimics this creature. 5. By observing these animals, scientists are learning how to make better antifreeze for cars. A. Spider B. Fly C. Fish D. Blue Mussel E. Cockleburs I love to look out into the night sky and gaze at God s amazing stars. There is just something wonderful about them that grabs our curiosity and interest. You have asked about a star named Betelgeuse (although you spelled it as Beetle Juice, which is exactly how it is pronounced but not spelled). This star is in the constellation called Orion. It is the 9 th brightest star in the sky and one of the easiest to spot. It has a redish color because it is a star known as a red supergiant. So, how big is this super giant star? Because it is so far away, it is difficult to get an exact size for it. Astronomers (scientists who study stars) think it is about 700 times bigger than our Sun. To help us think about that, approximately one million planet Earths would fit inside the Sun. So about 700 million planet Earths would fit inside Betelgeuse. Now that is a big star. If Betelgeuse replaced the Sun in our Solar System, it would be so large that it would take up the space of the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and probably Jupiter. But even though it is really big, there are bigger stars out there. One star, named UY Scuti, is estimated to be about 1,700 times larger than the Sun. Psalm 8:3-4 says, When I consider Your (God s) heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him? King David, who wrote this psalm, was amazed that God, who created billions of huge stars, still cares about His tiny humans on little planet Earth. June 2018 Discovery 47
APOLOGETICS PRESS, INC. 230 Landmark Drive Montgomery, AL 36117 (800) 234-8558 (Orders) (334) 272-8558 2018 Apologetics Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved Periodicals Postage PAID Editor: Kyle Butt, M.Div. Associate Editor: Eric Lyons, M.Min. Layout and Design: Rob Baker, M.Ed. Discovery is published monthly by Apologetics Press, Inc. pending Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, AL. Postmaster: Send address changes to Discovery, 230 Landmark Dr. Montgomery, AL 36117; USPS# 20 MUSSEL GLUE DO YOU KNOW WHAT A MUSSEL IS? NOT THE KIND THAT IS A PART OF YOUR BODY (WHICH IS SPELLED MUSCLE ), but the kind that lives in lakes, streams, or the ocean. A mussel is like an oyster. It has a shell and a very soft body inside the shell. One type of mussel, called the blue mussel, makes very strong glue. It can stick itself to rocks or logs. When strong waves crash against the mussel, it can stay put, because of its strong glue. The blue mussel s glue is amazing because it sticks under water. Have you ever tried to glue something in water? Most glue does not work on things that are wet. Have you ever taken a bath with a Band-aid on? What happened? The Band-aid probably came off because the sticky tape does not work well in water. Scientists are studying the glue of the blue mussel and trying to copy it. They want to copy it because glue that works when it is wet can be very helpful. Think of all the things it could do. It could be used to fix the undersides of boats. This special glue could also be used to fix swimming pools or large fish tanks. This amazing glue could also be used to glue skin together! When people get a deep cut on their skin, they often have to get stitches. Sometimes the stitches leave scars. But doctors are working with a new kind of glue that could replace stitches. Many types of glue do not work on skin because skin contains a lot of water. When we look at nature, we see millions of wonderful designs that God created. We can copy some of these designs and use them to make our lives better. Other designs are so difficult to understand, even the smartest humans cannot figure them out or copy them. The designs found in nature teach us very important lessons. They teach us that God is much smarter than humans will ever be. They also teach us that God designed the world just right for humans to live here. God cares about us and wants us to be happy. He wants us to learn about the natural world and use it to help make our lives better. But even more than that, God designed His Word, the Bible, to help us learn how to serve Him and go to heaven. 48 A I I I I I I I I I I I I L A Q O K G M Z F Q Q H H O O K S Q U C Q Z M F G O X L D S U E E C X D E G P R X S M N V E R U O S Q S J E V D O C F N R A A F L G L R K D G B K E B K F L U E B E E K L U L N U T A G R D C S G O N W E M H W E K M Q V G O Z D A M W X M G E T N X R T E X U Q M L L D U O W E S A F Y X C E P H R T M O Y C W R Z J L V F R O S W R U O Y E K N H A N Y N C E U F G P L W L Z H J T D K G N U O A K Z O S D O Q L ANSWERS MATCHING DESIGN IN SCIENCE WITH DESIGN BY GOD IN NATURE: 1. E (Cockleburs); 2. D (Blue Mussel); 3. A (Spider); 4. B (Fly); 5. C (Fish). SOLVE, FIND, AND CIRCLE: 1. biomimicry; 2. glue; 3. George de Mestral; 4. under water; 5. mussel; 6. silk; steel; 7. evolution; 8. hooks, loops; 9. ice cream; 10. Velcro. TRUE OR FALSE: 1. T; 2. F; 3. T; 4. T; 5. F; 6. F; 7. F; 8. F. Yearly Subscription Fees in U.S. Funds Only United States of America: Individual rate: $14 each Bulk rate (at least 5 to same address): $12 each. Club rate (at least 10 to different addresses paid together): $12 each Homeschool discount 10% off above rates COPYRIGHT, APOLOGETICS PRESS, INC., 2018, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED